


Gebel Grows

by DudeManWriter



Category: Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Male Weight Gain, Stuffing, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 09:15:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25967218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DudeManWriter/pseuds/DudeManWriter
Summary: Miriam saves Gebel's life with a Shard she had found, but the Shard leads to massive changes for Gebel
Kudos: 4





	Gebel Grows

Miriam had hoped that it would never come to this, but it was too late to hold on to that hope. Her final strike against her friend and foe Gebel had struck, sending him flying backwards. As Gebel landed and slid to a stop at a nearby palatial wall of marble and gold, Miriam rushed to his side, her sword clattering to the ground as she dropped it and knelt next to him. When Gebel’s eyes opened, Miriam instinctively felt her hand twitch towards the sword, but fought that instinct, hoping that she was about to speak to the real Gebel, the Gebel she knew, the Gebel not controlled by the demons that infested this castle and this land.

“Gebel? Are you okay?” Miriam asked, her voice soft as she did her best to hide her fears.

“Miriam. You look… different,” Gebel got out, taking slow, laboured breaths as he spoke. In all of the commotion of the fight, Miriam had honestly forgotten that Gebel had not seen her like this. She was not the slim young woman Gebel had last seen trapped in a mysterious slumber, sparing her from the Alchemist Guild’s demon summoning ritual. She was almost double the weight she was then, her body size becoming somewhere between chubby and fat. She was big all over, from her chunky arms and soft face to her wide belly and thick thighs. This was not something Miriam chose for herself, as it was a side effect of one of the Shards she wielded as a Shardbinder. It had slowed the spread of blue crystals across her body, but it made her body grow larger, partly by making her feel hungry enough to eat more food that she would really need, and partly by using repurposing the curse, changing what it was creating from the potentially body-consuming crystals into much safer fat. It had taken Miriam some time to adjust to fighting at this size, but her display of skill against Gebel showed that her increase in size and weight did not hinder her combat abilities, even against such a skilled and powerful opponent. Hearing Gebel mention it, even if he appeared to do his best to avoid directly mentioning it, was the most aware of it that Miriam had been in quite a while.

“Oh, Gebel, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Miriam said with a sigh of relief, reaching in to wrap Gebel in a tight hug.

“You came all this way, and yet you haven’t killed me? After all I’ve done…” Miriam’s eyes went wide with worry for her friend. She released him from the hug to look him straight in the eyes.

“Gebel, I promised you that I would stop you if your Shardbinder power ever manifested itself against your will, the same oath you promised to me. I never said that I would kill you,” Miriam asserted.

“That is true, but it’s better this way. The world can be rid of me. After all, it appears to be trying its hardest to finish me off,” Gebel said, pointing to his neck. Miriam could see the crystals slowly growing, consuming the skin beneath it.

“What’s happening? The corruption shouldn’t be spreading this quickly,” Miriam said, hints of panic seeping into her voice.

“I’m afraid it is,” Gebel merely stated, having accepted what was happening to him.

“No, it can’t. I won’t allow it,” Miriam declared. She moved back from Gebel and reached behind herself. She grabbed one of the crystal shards from her back and pulled, crying out in pain. She grit her teeth, fighting through it and bringing the shard to Gebel. “Absorb this, quickly. It will stop the spread.” It may have sounded like an order, but Miriam was practically pleading for her friend to take it. When Gebel hesitated, Miriam shoved the shard into his hand. Knowing how much Miriam wanted him to do it, Gebel went through with it, absorbing the shard into his body, wincing as he did it, before his body went limp. He was very clearly still breathing, though slowly and with some difficulty, but it looked more like he had passed out rather than him being on death’s door. There was a moment of quiet, as Miriam felt like time had stopped. All she could do was watch the crystals and hope for the best.

As the agonisingly slow minutes passed, she could see the growth of the crystals was slowing. She held his hand, waiting for the growth to properly stop. After what felt like an eternity, it slowed to a complete stop, or at least it looked like it had. Miriam had the experience to know that this should be enough to completely stop the crystals in their tracks, but, still, fear had enough of a hold on her to make her second guess herself. And so, she waited a little longer for Gebel to say something, anything, to make her feel reassured enough to leave his side and continue on her quest. Then, after far too long for Miriam’s liking, Gebel’s eyes fluttered open as he stirred awake again.

“All this time, and I’ve still never gotten used to that feeling,” Gebel groaned as he slowly sat up. “Still, I suppose it is an improvement over being consumed by crystals.”

“Do you think you’ll be okay?” Miriam asked, trying her best to keep calm and not let her concern show.

“I’ll be okay, Miriam. Now go on, this castle needs to be dealt with,” Gebel said, doing his best to sound reassuring.

“Okay, I will,” Miriam said, determination clear in her voice and on her face. “When you can, get yourself to Arvantville. I have a friend there, his name is Johannes. Let him know that I sent you and he should be able to help you.”

“Thank you, Miriam. Be careful.”

“You too, Gebel.” Miriam and Gebel gave each other another tight hug before Miriam heaved herself up and got a move on. A few minutes of catching his breath later, Gebel did the same, hoping he could find something to eat on his way there. Surely he should not have been this hungry right now, right?

\---

In the days following their last encounter, Gebel could not help but be worried for Miriam. Sure, he knew that Miriam was a powerful Shardbinder, she managed to beat him after all. However, he knew the many, many foes she would be facing in that castle would be a challenge even for her. Still, all he could do was wait for her in what was left of Arvantville and hope for the best.

Two weeks after their encounter, Gebel noticed that the village itself had gone quiet, or quieter than usual, the demons that had been infesting it having dispersed, or possibly even having disappeared entirely. Gebel was almost certain that that meant Miriam had been successful. Cautiously, he took advantage of this safer surface, being the first in Arvantville to return to hunting, farming and gathering food outside, when he was not being experimented on by Johannes to try and find a cure, or at least some respite for his curse. While he knew that the rest of the Arvantville survivors would have considered this food a very welcome sight and some well needed relief, Gebel did admit to himself that there was a slightly selfish intent behind it. Ever since he arrived at Arvantville, he found himself feeling far hungrier than he ever remembered being. However, he was not so selfish as to eat all that Arvantville had managed to scrape and scrounge for. Oddly enough, despite how much, or more accurately how little, he ate, he never seemed to end up properly full or satisfied. Of course, he was not eating massive quantities of food, but it was still surprising to him. Even more surprising was the effect this was having on his waistline. He did not feel that he was eating enough to have an impact on that, and yet, here he was, somehow growing a pot belly. It took him a fair while to even notice it, but when he did notice it, there was no doubting what it was. His shirt and pants grew snug around his belly, and his belt needed to be loosened a few notches. He even noticed, one one occasion where he spotted his reflection in a puddle, that his previously sharp jawline had softened. Also, quite curiously, he noticed that even under his crystalised skin he was growing soft as a feather filled pillow. When he brought it up to Johannes, the alchemist was unsure what to say about it. He had not had much of a chance to experiment with those afflicted by this crystal curse, let alone under such unusual circumstances. Still, the fact that he was quite clearly still human under all that crystal was somewhat reassuring, even if it meant that he was ending the month looking quite different from how he started it.

When Miriam returned to Arvantville, a touch slimmer than the last time Gebel saw her, Gebel happened to be out hunting, so Miriam had the chance to talk to Johannes about Gebel and his condition.

“So, Johannes, do you think he will recover?” Miriam asked, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

“That is something I could not tell you,” Johannes admitted. “However, despite how far his curse has progressed, he is doing far better than I ever could have imagined.”

“Oh? That is good news, I think,” Miriam replied, allowing a slight smile onto her lips, as she tried not to get too excited in anticipation of some caveat.

“It is, although I fear that there are too many variables involved to know for sure how to proceed from here. I think, for now, it is best that we proceed with caution,” Johannes warned. Miriam’s smile fell from her face.

“I suppose I should ask how the shard is affecting him.”

“The same way that it has affected you,” Johannes answered. “You’ll be able to see it when he returns.”  
As if on cue, that was the moment when Gebel returned.

“Miriam?” Gebel said in shock, his hunted quarry dropped at his feet.

“Gebel!” Miriam cheered as she rushed over to him, wrapping him in a strong hug. The softness of their two bodies surprised them briefly, before they managed to move past that.

“I suppose you’ve noticed the effect that shard had on me,” Gebel mentioned, his voice mostly neutral, with just a hint of embarrassment.

“I did, although it pales in comparison to how it affected me while I dealt with it,” Miriam pointed out, patting her wide belly as if to emphasise her point.

“That is true,” Gebel quietly commented. Whether he was too quiet to be heard or if Miriam was just distracted, Miriam did not seem to pick up on his comment.

“As glad as I am to see that you’re in good health, I think we should do something with that,” Miriam said, pointing to the deer Gebel had brought in. “I have some recipes I would like to try out, and it has been a very long time since I’ve been able to use something like this.” Gebel’s stomach took the opportunity to rumble loudly, letting everyone in the room know how Gebel felt about that idea.

“Well, if there is any left afterwards, I would appreciate some,” Johannes commented. “However, for now, I will be stepping out for a bit.” With that, Johannes was out of the subterranean house. Miriam brought Gebel over to a seat and hauled the deer over to the cooking area, before rummaging through the cupboards and pantry.

“Oh, are those fresh vegetables? This is perfect,” Miriam exclaimed, her excitement bringing a smile to Gebel’s face.

“It is good to see you in such a mood,” said Gebel.

“Food is the easiest way to get me in such a mood,” Miriam replied as she started to work. “At first, I thought it was being asleep for ten years that made me enjoy all of the food I was able to eat, then it was the shard making me want to eat more. Now, I think I just happen to enjoy food. Such an appreciation had not done me and my waistline any favours, however.”  
A few hours of cooking and idle chatter later, with Miriam and Gebel finally able to catch up properly for the first time in far too long, the meal was ready. It was a very large bowl of meaty stew, with Miriam trying to use as much of the deer as possible in it, not wanting to waste what could be perfectly good food. Gebel’s mouth was watering, something he failed to notice, but Miriam could see. Not wanting to embarrass her friend, and knowing how he felt, she decided to keep quiet about that little thing as she set the bowl down on the table in front of him, before taking a seat next to her.

“Help yourself to as much as you want. I know how hungry that Shard can make you. Even now, I find myself wanting to eat far more than I know I should. I can only imagine how much I would want to be eating if I still had that Shard,” Miriam said as she served herself a bowl of stew.

“I feel that that may be putting it lightly, somewhat,” Gebel commented as he served himself a larger bowl of stew.

“Until Johannes can break this curse, I suppose this annoyance will be something that we need to deal with. Still, I hope that I can at least make that wait comfortable enough,” Miriam added.

“Miriam, you don’t have to treat me like a frail old man just because of this curse,” Gebel complained with a hint of an angry growl in his voice, before shoving a spoonful of stew into his mouth. As he expected, it tasted wonderful, good enough to wipe the grumpy look off of his face in an instant.

“Oh, my apologies, I didn’t mean to imply that. I’m just... I’ve been worried about you. It’s been so long, and I have been worried about losing you, my best friend, this whole time. I came so close to losing you already,” Miriam feared. Miriam’s open concern would have warmed even the coldest of hearts, and Gebel’s heart was far from that. Any annoyance he still held over Miriam’s earlier comment was well and truly gone.

“I should apologise too. I jumped to that conclusion far too quickly,” Gebel quietly admitted. 

“Sorry, I’m not sure what got into me.”

“Maybe you just need something to eat. I know that I get irritable when I’m hungry,” Miriam suggested.

“That does seem likely. Perhaps our conversation can continue after dinner?”

“Good idea.”

And with that, the pair began to eat. At her advanced size, Miriam did not look like she was getting all that full, partly because of how large she already was, partly because of her larger clothes giving her more room to fill out without drawing attention to her stomach and partly because she was not eating too ludicrous a meal. Meanwhile, despite the round gut Gebel was sporting, it seemed like it was growing at a much quicker rate than Miriam’s. He was eating far more food much quicker than Miriam was. In minutes, he had gone through three bowlfuls of stew and his stomach was growing large, spherical and taut. The skin was starting to go red in the gaps between the buttons of his straining shirt and his stomach was aching. It took until the end of his fourth bowl of stew before his brain finally processed what was happening to him. It all hit him at once, turning him into a stuffed, groaning mess as he slouched back in his chair. This looked very familiar to Miriam. Johannes was right, the Shard was affecting him just as it affected her. She knew that unless Johannes could break their curse quickly, it would not be long before Gebel was bigger than her.

\---

As time went by, a lot of days ended up being very similar to this. Miriam would go out adventuring, helping the people recover from the demonic incursion and its aftermath, while Gebel would be keeping to the area near Arvantville, tending to his food garden, hunting and gathering and Johannes would be in his laboratory, researching and experimenting, trying to find a way to cure Miriam and Gebel of their curse. On the days when Miriam was still near Arvantville come nightfall, she would usually return home and cook up something hearty and filling for her, Gebel and Johannes to share. She had a plethora of recipes she wanted to try out and experiment with, and Gebel was more than happy to be a test subject for Miriam’s meals.

Needless to say, this had quite the effect on his body, stacking on top of the effects of the shard that was slowly but steadily fattening him up. His waistline bore the brunt of these effects, as most of the food he ate became belly fat, making it balloon out and out, further and further in every direction, needing a bigger shirt almost every week or two in order to keep it covered. Eventually it got to the point where his waist’s circumference was more than his height, something that was explicitly spelled out for him when he was getting measured for yet another larger set of clothes. Of course, he had to deal with more than just that fat belly he was growing. His whole body widened, meaning that he was often bumping into things that he had thought he could avoid, due to misjudging just how wide he was getting, an understandable mistake with how quickly he was widening out. Most of his widening was at the hips, and along with that came thicker thighs and a larger rear, basically trying to keep up with the rest of his growing body and give his body a more solid foundation. Fortunately, it did not feel to Gebel like it was all just useless fat, weighing him down and getting in his way. Somehow, whether it was the work of the Shard or his own hard work, he felt just as fit, fast and capable as he was back when he was his old, slimmer self. In fact, he felt that he was becoming more capable than before in ways that he had not been trained in before. Most of his Shards were useless when it came to hunting, with the only one that did not ruin the meat on the game he hunted being his Ice Shard attack, which meant that Gebel needed to change things up. After a decade of practically relying on the magical Shards for combat, the change of pace was probably a good thing for him.

Another benefit of Gebel’s increased size was how the magi-crystal curse was affecting him. Johannes was not entirely certain, but he theorised that the Shard making Gebel grow to such a size was either making the crystals recede, or he was dealing with the same amount of crystals, but it merely looked like less because there was more of him for the crystals to try to cover, and unlike skin, crystals cannot stretch.

It was definitely a good thing that Gebel was getting so well adjusted to his growing body, as Miriam was still cooking up a storm whenever she could. This time, for example, she had cooked up an entire roast pig, with a very solid bed of roast vegetables, potatoes, carrots, pumpkin and more, to go with it.

“Okay, I tried a new way of roasting these vegetables with salt, garlic and just a little bit of pepper this time, since you didn’t seem to like how much pepper I put in last time,” Miriam explained as she heaved it all out of the oven and onto the table.

“Shouldn’t we wait for Johannes to return?” Gebel asked, mostly out of politeness, since he very much wanted to dig straight in.

“I’m certain he should be back soon, and I doubt he would want us to wait too long for him,” Miriam reassured. She carved off a big chunk of pig to put on Gebel’s plate, while Gebel helped himself to a healthy amount of vegetables. In comparison, Miriam’s plate looked almost empty, but that was definitely because of how full, or perhaps overfilled, Gebel’s plate was, since Miriam was still far from skimping on her food. Without the Shard spurring her on and making what she ate turn into fat faster, Gebel shot well past her in terms of weight, maybe to double her weight, at a guess. At the very least, she was one that only needed one seat, and the one whose bed didn’t groan and creak from strain whenever she moved even an inch in her sleep. In fact, Gebel was not too far from starting to have issues with doors at his advanced size. As he worked his way through his first plate and started on his second, the thoughts he had been having about his size and weight occasionally reared its head, but those thoughts were quickly drowned out by his enjoyment of Miriam’s food and his desire for more food. That desire for more food was an almost constant presence, which made these meals even more enjoyable, with them feeling like a good night’s sleep when you are exhausted or a warm blanket when you are cold. It was so good that Gebel was basically on autopilot, going for plate after plate without really putting any thought into it. In fact, he barely even registered it all until about half a dozen plates in when he noticed his shirt feeling a little bit tight. Still, he only faintly recognised it, as he kept on eating. Miriam had only just finished her plate and was full enough to not go for more. Instead, she decided to hop up and help Gebel get some more, for which Gebel was very grateful, even if his thanks was difficult to discern through his full mouth. Another couple of plates later, his buttons were straining and groaning, trying to keep his growing stomach contained. The plate after that, however, was their absolute limit. The first button snapped Gebel out of what was basically a gluttonous trance, but instead of stopping him from eating, it just meant that he was fully aware of what was happening. He was just too hungry for more and more food to care, at this point. The next button did not last much longer, and neither did the third. Only the buttons over his plush chest were safe, and it was almost certain that this meal would be one of the many that were helping to make him large enough that not even those buttons would be safe in the future. There was only one button left over his lower belly, as his stomach was mostly bloating and making his upper belly larger, making his belly take on a more spherical shape than usual. The tautness reminded Gebel and Miriam of a ball, one that continued to grow and grow as Gebel kept on eating and eating, more and more food disappearing into his practically bottomless stomach. A few plates later, and the last button over his belly blew out, shooting across the room and letting Gebel’s belly be free as it rested on his exceedingly wide lap. He took a brief break from eating to undo his belt, giving him more room to breath and grow, and grow he did. A fair few more plates were filled, mostly by Miriam, as Gebel’s increasingly large and full belly made leaning up to fill his own plates increasingly large, especially as he kept emptying them at an impressive pace. There was not much of the pig and vegetables left when Johannes returned, his eyes going wide in surprise at the sight in front of him.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to interrupt, sorry,” Johannes quickly said, averting his gaze from Gebel’s massive stomach.

“Oh, no, no, you’re not interrupting anything. In fact, you should join us. I had hoped to save more for you, but, well...” Miriam said, gesturing towards the gargantuan Gebel as she trailed off at the end. Johannes set his travelling pack aside near the door and grabbed his own plate to join the pair.

“I suppose now would be a good time to mention that I believe I am very close to finding a way to break the curse you two are dealing with at the moment,” Johannes mentioned. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to be rid of the Shard that has been giving you such an appetite.”

“I know I was happy to get rid of it,” Miriam commented, “but I’m very glad that I kept hold of it for long enough to save you.” Gebel swallowed a mixed mouthful of food before sitting up to get a better look at the pair.

“Oh, well, that is good news. I’m not entirely certain how much more weight I can stand to gain before it becomes a serious issue,” Gebel replied. “I have to admit, however, that I have somewhat enjoyed the food I’ve had while under the influence of this Shard. “I have to admit, however, that I have certainly enjoyed the food I’ve had more than anything I have eaten before while under the influence of this Shard. Of course, I’m almost certain that my good friend Miriam was a large part of that,” he added, patting Miriam on the shoulder.

“Oh, thank you,” Miriam said quietly. “I suppose it is partly my fault that you have become so large.”

“That may be true, but I think that even without you, Gebel would have gotten to this size,” Johannes attempted to reassure. “Perhaps not as quickly...”

“No, no, I know how much I eat. I would have gotten this big just as quickly. It just would have involved food that wasn’t as well prepared,” Gebel admitted.

“Well, anyway, I think I will be able to break the curse by the end of the month. Hopefully you are still in decent enough shape by then that removing the Shard won’t be too much of a hindrance to you,” Johannes diverted.

“We can only hope for the best,” Miriam reassured.

“Hopefully I will still be able to enjoy your cooking, Miriam,” Gebel said, “even if it will have to be in smaller portions.”

“That may take some work to get used to, but I think I can manage it.”

“Well, I would like to think that this would call for a toast, but I worry what putting more into Gebel’s stomach could result in,” Johannes suggested.

“I think I can manage a single toast,” Gebel said, grunting as he heaved himself upright. “I do feel somewhat underdressed for a toast, though.”

“Not to worry. After all, we’re all friends here,” Miriam reassured as she got up and got glasses for the three of them, as well as the one bottle of wine that the three of them had been given by the people of Arvantville. She poured one out for the three of them and picked up her glass.

“To the end of this awful curse,” Miriam called out.

“Cheers,” said Johannes. Gebel tried to follow suit, but what came out first was a long, rumbling belch. It was long enough that he had time to be surprised by it, and then cover his mouth before the belch finished.

“Oh dear,” he got out quietly as the belch finished. “Um, cheers.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written for doom7951 over on DeviantArt. Specifically, it's the one I mentioned mucking up in the description of Sun's Big Night With Kali. This was meant to be 5,000 words, but I undershot that by a few hundred, so I got to make up that gap with Sun's Big Night.
> 
> Side Note: I've never heard of this game until I started writing this, so apologies in advance if I got the characterisation all wrong.


End file.
